Cheap Flights to Anywhere – 3 Airline Search Engines to Help Save Money

Last updated on December 14th, 2022

Forget work and responsibilities. Buy a one-way ticket to Peru and trek through the Cordillera Blanca. After the trek, catch a flight to Panama and sail through the San Blas Islands.

Yeah, we all feel like that sometimes – actually, more often than not.

Travelling is one of the better ways to spend your time, and unfortunately some of your money too. But nobody wants to pay a premium on flights. The best way to find inexpensive flights is to be flexible with your dates and destinations. Many budget travelers, including the out-of-town weekend clan, find cheap flights to anywhere to reduce travel costs.

The most time-saving method to finding these deals, including cheap last minute flights to anywhere, is to use an airline search engine. Airline search engines are capable of optimizing the cheapest flights on different dates. This includes finding flights with budget airlines which some of the larger airline booking sites avoid.

Best Websites to Find Cheap Flights to Anywhere

1. Skyscanner

Skyscanner is my best website to finding cheap international flights. They are the Google of Airline Flights at the moment.

You can query for just about any search combination: city to anywhere, city to city, city to country, country to country, country to city, country to anywhere. In addition, you can find the cheapest time to fly up to 12 months in advance.

Skyscanner doesn’t participate in dynamic pricing which they are proud of. This should save you some money for drinks on the islands.

The downside of using Skyscanner is they don’t have their own booking system; they refer you to an online travel booking agency or to the airline directly. It really comes down to who is offering the lowest price. This can sometimes lead to shady business from a third party. However, Skyscanner does ask for feedback on the booking process with the third party. This leads me to believe they try to manage the third party and the service provided.

If the desired flights found on Skyscanner are available on Expedia, I just book with Expedia. It’s usually less than a $5 difference or none at all. Skyscanner for search, Expedia to reserve.

2. Momondo

Momondo is another good airline search engine. Their website can search from city to country or anywhere, however they are limited to specific dates.

For specific destinations (e.g., New York to Paris) after the initial search, they provide a scrollable bar graph by date with price options which is pretty informative.

Momondo’s best feature is a trip finder, which helps you find cheap flights in certain regions by month.

Like Skyscanner, they don’t have their own reservation system.

3. Google Flights Explore Map

The search engine giant is in the airline business as well. Google Flights can search anywhere for up to 6 months for one-way fares. Its round-trip search to anywhere is limited to dates ranging from weekends to 1 or 2 weeks. Where are the people that only have 2 weeks of vacation a year?

The good news, their website is blazing fast. Google Flights also provides you the option to reserve with them or through the airline. Either way, they still get paid, right?

4. Kayak – Worth a Mention

Kayak is another website that can find cheap flights to anywhere and anytime, their website does run a little slow when making this broad search and tends to crash when making searches such as country to country. However, they have their own booking system.

I do want to point out that Kayak and Momondo are subsidiaries of the parent company Booking Holdings in case you were comparing the two websites.

Things to Consider About Airline Search Engines

• AirAsia is a large, well-known budget airline that I have flown with in the past. Skyscanner and Momondo provide AirAsia flights. Kayak, Google Flights, and Expedia don’t. I am pointing this out to give you an idea of the search reach.
• Many flight results and prices are cached or stored information. You should always verify the final price.
• If you fly with checked luggage, double-check that checked luggage is included in the price or what the additional cost is. Many budget airlines do not include checked luggage, and large commercial airlines are following suit.
• Some smaller airlines or online travel agencies charge a small fee for credit card transactions.
• If you have a specific date and location that requires one or more layovers, and you also need to fly soon (usually an emergency), sometimes a travel agent is your best option. They are capable of making flight combinations that are not available online. I’ve personally experienced this.

Final Thoughts

You’re reading this post to save you money. And I understand many people are limited to when and where they can fly. But if you have a chance for long-term travel, buy a one-way ticket to a country or region with a low cost of living. Your money will go a long way.

You will travel like a king or queen and wander like a philosopher. I recommend Colombia or Thailand. By the way, a freshly squeezed coconut-mango smoothie in Chiang Mai costs 20 baht.

And to this day, I still use Skyscanner to find cheap flights as do most of my friends whom I met while backpacking abroad.

Buen Viaje.